Please discuss in detail about the term "Ortho Effect" and how does it play its role in determining the acidic and basic property in aromaic compounds

Dear sudip,

The ortho effect is based on the premise that an ortho-substituted acid (take benzoic acid as an example) is more acidic than the meta or para-substituted form. This effect is not dependent on the nature of the substituent (e- donating or e- withdrawing). The reason for this is that the steric hinderance between the substituent and the neighboring carboxylate forces the carboxylate to bend out of the plane of the aromatic ring. This conformational shift alters the delocalization of the charge into the benzene ring, making it easier for the negative charge to be delocalized throughout the pi-system.

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